Reply to I was a zookeeper at National Zoo. AMA.

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Do you or have you also owned pets? If so what kinds?
How do you feel about pet ownership and pet trade in general, esp for exotic animals like birds snakes lizards tigers etc?[/quote]

Yea, I grew up with tons of animals. For most of my life I had anywhere from 1-2 dozen pets at any given moment.

Right now we just have a couple dogs and small rodents. I would like more, but with little kids, pets are a LOT. In 5 years or so I'd love to move to a farm and have more animals.

I don't think most people should own exotic animals because they just can't care for them properly. Pet birds are treated horribly, they're intelligent & social animals that most people keep solo in tiny cages with nothing for them to do. Snakes are kept in tanks so small they can't stretch out fully. Most animals are rehomed multiple times or neglected until they die. I've known people with big cats like tigers and lions, and they're kept in tiny cages. There's a guy who lives in Arlington - I think he's an attorney - and he has an entire basement crammed full of animals, including lemurs, large birds kept in small cages, and I believe a falcon that is tied up and never actually flown (if you don't know, when it comes to falconry, birds need to be flown for several HOURS per day. Keeping them tied up in a basement is highly unethical).

I don't think these people are bad (except maybe attorney guy, collecting/hoarding is just plain unethical and everyone should know better), I just think people have no idea what it takes to properly care for a parrot or iguana. I do think there should be some sort of licensing requirement with required coursework. And things like tigers or primates - no way. Nobody should have them. [/quote]

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